'Indispensable link in all equipment for GWW'

In 1981, John Bunnik started his company John Bunnik Grondverzet with one crane. Bunnik noticed that there was a lot of work to do and two years later decided to move to the current location in Zegveld, in the middle of the Green Heart. Son Perry is the current owner and company manager, and after 40 years, Bunnik Verhuur en Grondverzet has grown into a service-oriented total rental company in the ground, road and hydraulic engineering sector, with a wide variety of machines and supporting equipment.

Perry is co-owner with father John and mother Ineke; brother Michel is active as a shovel operator and Perry's wife Stephanie does the office with Ineke. A real family business, in other words. "Thanks to our team of 30 specialists, we can serve any customer; from the private individual around the corner to the contractor combination of the Blankenburg connection," says Perry. Who leads a no-nonsense company that, according to the founder's philosophy, "comes from the bottom up. "Some companies come from above, we are workmen," my father used to say. "Understanding the reality of the performer is key, whether that's a direct request for advice on a pump to be used from someone standing in the water, or a heat pipe contractor for whom we supply trench shoring, pumps, shelters as well as construction fencing. We have it all."

Energy efficient equipment

Many contractors have discontinued or downsized their equipment services, some struggling to invest in equipment preservation. As a result, Bunnik has become an indispensable link in today's rental market. "On many fronts, we can already provide electric or energy-efficient equipment, or battery facilities for construction huts equipped with solar panels. We are and want to be a total rental company for the GWW. We are centrally located in the country, meaning half an hour from Utrecht and Amsterdam. In Heenvliet near the Botlek we have a second depot to serve the port of Rotterdam, and we are a service-oriented family business that delivers directly."

No 9 to 5 mentality

That means: no 9 to 5 mentality but working when there is work or when the customer asks, "sometimes even at night, like now in the busy autumn period, or on weekends. You know with big infrastructure projects: when the permit is there, work is done immediately; then you have to be ready, and that's not always at a scheduled time. As owner I do the planning and acquisition myself, the lines are short, the customer can always call me." In January 2021, the rental company Bunnik Verhuur and John Bunnik Grondverzet merged. As a result, customers of both business units are even more unburdened, have less administrative hassle and receive even more service. 

Blankenburg Link

On behalf of Rijkswaterstaat, contractor combination BAAK is realizing the Blankenburg connection near Rotterdam (completion 2024). Now that the roof of the Maas Delta Tunnel has been completed, work has begun on rebuilding the Boulevard in Rozenburg. To do this, soil is first applied that was released during excavation. This involves about 90,000 cubic meters of material. To get the necessary machinery into the deep construction pit, two crawler cranes and a 13-ton vibratory roller were brought down from Bunnik VG using a 200-ton telecrane. By rotating backfill material downward, the machines worked themselves upward. "We are also the preferred rental company for specialized equipment, with our own people on site," says Perry Bunnik.